Conventional tent, awning and canopy frame structures of readily assemblable and disassemblable nature are known. They are commonly made up of cylindrical tubing and various types of junction elements or connectors, or so-called slip fit or slip-on fittings, commonly termed corner, ridge intermediate, intermediate, three-way crown, four-way crown, six-way crown and eight-way crown fitting.
Often, the prior art systems do not include means for sealing against the weather and other environmental conditions at the joints where the various panels are joined. Another disadvantage is that the prior art shelters have to be built on unlevel ground, which is the normal situation. Unlevel ground poses a number of problems when a number of units have to be added to each other to produce a relatively large shelter.
Another shortcoming is that the prior art systems are not strong enough to support the tent and tent frame structure.